preventing chafe of RIB on davits

[Cheechako]

I used flat foam small fenders. I forget who make them. Just tied to the mother boat or the RIB. Secure the rib tightly and I think you are fine even without them. What size tubing will it be against? Will a tied on swimming pool noodle work?

[Locquatious]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I used flat foam small fenders. I forget who make them. Just tied to the mother boat or the RIB. Secure the rib tightly and I think you are fine even without them. What size tubing will it be against? Will a tied on swimming pool noodle work?

Right. We just use our dock fenders between the dinghy and stern rail.

[keithw88]

I have fitted four chocks onto the fabric of my RIB, per photo attached. The chaps are fitted around these, as I believe that inserting anything between the davit and the dinghy which can move against the fabric of the RIB will do so: the inserted material will not move much against the davit, but the mass of the dinghy will make the dinghy move against whatever material is used. So my chocks have a big surface area and a gradual change in rigidity from the bearing surface outwards so there is a minimisation of any hard edge.
I use a bridle to lift the RIB into place, but wide straps with S/S ratchets to bind it up tight to the davit arms.
The shape of my chocks is dictated by the profile of my davit arms, which are flat underneath.
I believe with other posters that the engine must be kept off the RIB (not least in my case as the CoG of the two together is raised above the pivot of the bridle), and that the bung must be out!
I have also filled the volume under the floor in the fwd part of the hull with expanding foam to reduce the amount of rain-water which can sit in it.

[Jetx]

Originally Posted by waterman46

Did it stick well to a hypalon dinghy? Bit expensive at $47.59 including shipping, for only 3 meters!

Tape was applied to underside of the davit arms, rather than to the dinghy tubes. And yes, it’s certainly priced like a “marine” product! But still cheap relative to a hypalon dinghy

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Jetx

Tape was applied to underside of the davit arms, rather than to the dinghy tubes. And yes, it’s certainly priced like a “marine” product! But still cheap relative to a hypalon dinghy

Read your post wrong the first time, sorry. On same subject, we recently got some Gorilla Waterproof Patch Tape. It is marketed as a solution to stop water leaks. It is rather thick and a little stretchy. The top side is very slick so it may work well for application on the davits. Comes in 4" width x 10' length for $13 on Amazon.

[Sos]

I did once see some rubber chocks that you could bond to the dinghy. Would have been perfect to stop movement and chafe but cannot for the life of me find the website again

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Sos

I did once see some rubber chocks that you could bond to the dinghy. Would have been perfect to stop movement and chafe but cannot for the life of me find the website again

I would be cautious about using any attachment to the tubes, to stop a RIB from moving about in a seaway. Most of the force of movement is caused by the heavy part of the RIB, the bottom or the hull, moving as the yacht rolls. If you restrain the RIB from moving by holding the tubes firmly then there must be a repetitive back and forth strain on the attachment of tubes to the RIB's hull. Over many sea miles I doubt this is good for the dinghy.

As others posted, we use straps or ropes that can be tightly tensioned, from the dingy's lifting eyes up to the opposite davit - so the lines run fore and aft w.r.t. the dinghy. With everything tight, this usually means the tubes will contact the davits somewhere. There will still be some movement no matter what you do, so you still need good chafe protection.

[vpbarkley]

I want to thank all the posters for their responses.
I appreciate you taking time to answer my questions and sharing your experiences.